'A path with heart' or 'the good, red way'. There is something terribly poignant about the loss of the Native American spiritual traditions.

Don Juan, if he ever existed outside of Carlos Castenada's imagination, revealed a particular way of living and understanding the natural world. But for a more spiritual view, I suggest folks add to their reading list:

I think three of the best books I've ever read on Zen Buddhism all concern a single man. Shunryu Suzuki (Not D.T. Suzuki, but he does pay homage to D.T.) created the first Zen Temple in America in CA, Tassajara in the bay area...

Zen Mind, Beginners MindStreams Branching in the DarknessNot always So

They are the most influental books I've read. He never wrote these books, but they are his talks transcribed into books. He died many years ago unfortunately, but I think his books approach Zen in a way that is often neglected. We seen the Metaphoric Teacher, who gives us these similies to stretch our thought. We have the Koan Teacher, who teaches by the obscure example of those who came before... I think Shunryu Suzuki was a teacher who taught through pushing his students to question. Often Questions are rewarded, often they show where the student is. Some teachers are hard with their answers to force their students to look inside, or be vulnerable. There is something to be said for Shunryu Suzuki's straight forward language of "As it is" mindset. Please enjoy these books with an open heart... You don't need to know the depths of Zen or Buddhist history/Mythos to understand these books, and I think that is the truest heart of Zen... When one relies to much on the stories of the past, we often lose the moment we are in and see things no longer as what they are, but what they were...

Case in point, I'm 25 years old. According to the Department of the Navy, I'm too old to join. However, that still doesn't stop me from being a soldier. What I might have been had I joined at 18, I can still be.